Police make arrest in fatal drug overdoses on West Side

Chicago police have arrested a man in connection with a batch of drugs laced with the potent painkiller fentanyl that was distributed on the West Side this week, resulting in at least 17 overdoses, four of them fatal. The man was taken into custody Friday morning, but no charges have been announced. Detectives made the arrest after talking to a person of interest earlier in the week. That person has since been released. Emergency crews began dealing with a rash of overdoses around 9:40 a.m. Tuesday, mostly in parts of East Garfield Park. Police said witnesses reported someone in a silver sedan distributing drugs around the corner of Homan and Chicago avenues Tuesday morning, near where many of the victims were found. More of the drugs still could be in circulation, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi has warned. Police said they were sold in clear zip-close plastic bags and contained fentanyl, 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.